The Atlantic Cities blog points us to the 8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, which “bases its affordability measure on the ‘median multiple,’ which is found by dividing the median home price by the gross annual median household income before taxes.”

The Worcester housing market was ranked 147th (out of 210) nationally in terms of affordability. Our median multiple was 3.4, which places us in the Moderately Unaffordable category. (That’s based on a median housing price of $213,500 and a median household income of $61,900.)

In Massachusetts, both the Barnstable Town and Boston markets are in the Severely Unaffordable category. Springfield (with a median multiple of 4.0) and Providence (median multiple = 4.3) is in the Seriously Unaffordable category; Hartford (median multiple = 3.7)

is, like Worcester, just Moderately Unaffordable.

The study is worth a read if you’re interested in housing bubbles and affordability.